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Free Billboard Space in Arizona
Glendale, Arizona—At Glendale’s Westgate City Center, there are numerous signs displayed for clients such as Qwest, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser. These signs might be worth thousands of dollars per month for the Westgate City Center, but they’re free for these clients—at least for now.
According to The Arizona Republic, the advertisers pay nothing for their signs because the Center is still under development. Clear Channel Communications' outdoor advertising division, which owns more than thirty billboards at Westgate, said it will not begin billing advertisers until businesses open November 15. That's about two weeks later than the October target date that developer Ellman Cos. had been shooting for earlier this year, according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Glendale repeatedly has said the first phase of the project—about 500,000 square feet of shops, restaurants, offices, and theaters—is already two years behind schedule.
But one Ellman official said that Clear Channel's decision to allow early advertising “has nothing to do with late delivery.” Ellman also told the newspaper that the billboards are promoting Westgate, located along Glendale Avenue east of Loop 101. They also call attention to the project's one-of-a-kind signage, anticipated to be a lucrative enterprise.
”The sooner things open, the sooner people start spending money in the project,” said Tim Wright, senior vice president at the Ellman Cos., as quoted in the Republic.
Clear Channel Spectacolor's Dan Jasper, who is heading billboard advertising efforts at Westgate, said it didn't make sense at this time to charge for the ad space. "It is the right policy," said Jasper, vice president of Spectacolor's Branded Cities group.
—Lori Andreozzi
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